


Frosty feet

by BlackPensils



Series: Female!Marco the Phoenix [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Backstory, Child Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Father-Daughter Relationship, Female Marco, First Meetings, Gen, Kid Marco, Marko needs a hug, Non-Sexual Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2019-11-08 01:05:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17971538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackPensils/pseuds/BlackPensils
Summary: "I’m Edward Newgate,” the giant said, holding out his finger for her to shake. She just glared at it. "What’s your name, son?”She huffed, not accepting his hand - or finger. “Marko.” Then she crossed her arms as best she could. “And not a boy.”~~~Marko didn't ask for any help, yet Newgate was determined to give it anyway. Why he would help some random kid he'd just met on the streets was beyond her, though.





	1. Meeting Pops

It was always cold now, both night and day. She could feel the frost under her bare feet as she walked along the street doing her best to appear invisible with mixed results. It was hard to blend in with the blonde dirty mess she called her hair, which made it hard for her to stay out of sight. It never would do what she wanted it to do. Mongrel also did little to appear inconspicuous. He stood out with his massive amounts of fur and gigantic size and constant loud barking. He was running up ahead, tail wagging behind him as he smelled stands and passer bys. Mother’s pulled their children close as he approached, giving both Mongrel and her dirty looks as if she’d just released some horrid beast onto the streets.

She could feel the glares of the normal people, the ones who got to go home to warm beds when it got dark. Who had a good hot meal cooked over hot stoves waiting for them when they got home. The children who got to hear bedtime stories every night and got kissed goodnight and felt safe as they feel asleep, not afraid of what lurked outside in the cold nights. The normal, average citizen that the Marines would care about if something were to happen. The people that weren’t Marko.

She scratched her scalp, flakes of dirt fell out of her hair. She looked around the marketplace. There were still some who didn’t want to pull their stands in for the winter, who were still adamant to keep them outside for a little longer until the snow decided to remain permanently on the ground.

Their island stood out from the other islands on the grand line. It was normally a spring island, most of the time. But once in a while, once every few years, it would get really cold and snow would fall. Marko had managed to learn that it usually happened once every two to three years. She hadn’t realized that herself, it had been Jones who had told her that years ago when she’d been younger before the other had disappeared. It had taken some time but eventually Marko had learned to recognize the holiday lights as a sign of time passing, now it had been three holidays since the last winter, so it was only natural that it would happen now.

Marko didn’t like the cold. It made her worry about Mongrel and the other street kids she got to know over the years. She wasn’t much worried about herself. The blue flames kept her alive, not necessarily warm, but definitely alive. Plus, she had Mongrel to snuggle up to. His warm fur and large body would wrap around her like a fluffy and warm blanket. They would snuggle up in some alley at night and keep each other warm.

The hardest part about winter was finding food. All the trees would die and all the crops and fruits would go away for months before growing back. The marketplace would become bare as the shopkeepers moved their merchandise and food inside to keep it warm and fresh. It was harder to steal from a shop with enclosed space than it was from an open market where she could run away quickly without someone noticing too quickly. Winter had the highest mortality rate for the street kids and Marko had seen many come and go over the years. You became numb to the loss after a while when it didn’t happen to the ones you cared about, but eventually you had to learn that those might go away too. Like Jones and Stacie.

Marko coughed, more for the effect of looking weak and miserable than anything else. If they felt sorry for her they might just let her steal the food without much arguing.

It didn’t take her long before she spotted the baker. The best in town, it was said. He baked the bread fresh and sometimes even on demand where you could come pick it up later. To the normal people he was a very nice man who smiled a lot and laughed with the children, sometimes even giving them a free sample. With Marko and the street kids it was different. With them he was cold and mean. He would always yell at them and call them freaks or misfits.

“Mongrel!” she hissed, waving for the dog to come back to her side. “Mongrel! Come back here.”

The huge fur ball stopped, tongue out and wagging his tail. He barked happily and ran back towards her, nosing her in the face. His nose was damp and she had to wipe her cheek afterwards.

“Shh! Be quiet, he’s going to notice,” Marko said, ruffling his ears. She pointed towards the door of the bakery and said, “Speak.”

Mongrel quickly ran over to the door, passing a woman who gasp as he passed her. She hurried away as if he was some monster, making a gesture with her hands that Marko had learned to recognize as an insult to others. Then he spoke, barking as loud as he could and jumping around to grab attention from the passer bys.

It didn’t take long before the baker came out, spatula in hand and waving it around at him. “You fucking beast, you get out of here! Go! Shoo!” he yelled, as he came closer to Mongrel while the dog moved backwards away from him. Leading him away from Marko and the outside stand.

She quickly hurried over to one of the bread stands with old loafs. There was probably something wrong with them or they weren’t up to his standards, that’s why they were out here instead of inside the warm shop. She snatched one and held it against her chest in an attempt to hide it.

“Mongrel!” she called, ready to hurry away from there before the baker caught her.

He stopped before hurrying back towards her, large paws making thuds as he ran. As he came closer a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and shook her around.

“Hey!” she exclaimed. “Let go of me!”

The baker glared down at her with fiery eyes. “You little thief! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Let- let go!” Marko growled, pulling on her wrist to get out of his grip. He only tightened it and pulled her closer.

“You better pay for that, you brat, or I’m calling the marines,” he said. He huffed as he kicked at Mongrel as the dog started to growl at him, getting ready to attack and defend.

“Don’t hurt him, you asshole!”

Then a small thud came from next to them followed by a small clink as metal met with one of the wooden tables. The baker immediately put on a kind face, turning towards the customer. He looked at the coin on the table and beamed. “Thank you, sir, pick any loaf you’d like! We have freshly made ones inside-”

“It’s not for me,” a loud voice boomed, almost echoing.

Marko’s eyes widened as she noticed the large shadow that had been cast over them and had to look up to see the face of whoever had spoken. She gasped as she saw the huge man smile down at them. He was almost the size of some of the larger buildings at the market. Never had she seen a man that big before! She could barely see his neck from down where she stood.

“It’s for the kid,” the man explained.

“Are you sure, sir?” the baker said, raising an eyebrow. “She’s a regular thief here, you don’t have to bother. I’ll just call the marines on her.”

“No need to do that. It’s for the kid,” he said, nodding.

“Whatever you say, pal,” the baker huffed letting go of her arm as if it was poisonous. He snatched the small coin like a greedy weasel, eyes glaring at Marko as he walked back inside the bakery. Marko could still see him glance back at her from the open door in the side of the building. When he turned away, Marko gave him the finger.

The gigantic man laughed at the gesture and crouched down to her level with a smile. He still towered over her. “That’s not very nice,” he chuckled.

“He’s not very nice. I’m starving, yoi,” she snapped.

She hugged the loaf closer to her chest as if she was cradling a child or an important treasure. To her, it was the greatest treasure of them all: food. Since he’d paid for it, it was technically his and she wasn’t willing to give the loaf up.

Mongrel growled beside her, baring his teeth and turning his attention on the giant stranger. He wasn’t the smartest dog, seeing as the giant man could crush the large dog with his hand if he wanted.

The stranger turned towards Mongrel, still with a smile and held out his hand towards him. He cupped it into a fist with one finger stretched out towards him to sniff. Mongrel hesitated as he nosed closer and closer to the finger, carefully sniffing it. At first he seemed unsure about the giant man, but stood straight as he continued to sniff the man’s hand before looking back at Marko with his tongue out, tail flapping behind him as if he’d decided that the man wasn’t all that bad.

Marko pouted. “Traitor.”

The giant laughed and patted the white fluff that was Mongrels head while the dog seemed to have no problem leaning up into the finger. He seemed to have definitely decided that the stranger was his new friend.

“I didn’t need your help, yoi,” Marko huffed, glaring at her traitorous dog. Normally she trusted in Mongrels ability to detect an asshole or a nice person, but she didn’t like this stranger. She definitely didn't like it when strangers assumed she needed help just because she had to steal to eat. “I can take care of myself, yoi.”

“Is that a speech tic?” the man asked, completely ignoring what else she’d said.

Marko held up a hand over her mouth, blushing at having it pointed out to her. She couldn’t help it, it came naturally to her. “No! It’s voluntary!”

He chuckled again, rubbing her messy curls with his finger. Kind of like a normal sized human would do with their hand while ruffling someone’s hair. “What’s your name, son?”

_Son?_ she blinked. He thought she was a boy? She looked down on herself, seeing her baggy and oversized shirt and the pants that she’d tied up the legs and midriff with rope so she wouldn’t trip over them. She didn’t look very feminine, true, but she’d stopped pretending to be a boy long ago when it had come out that she was a girl. It hadn’t done much for her anyway.

“I’m-” she stopped, pulling her lips into a thin line. “Why do you want to know? You don’t tell strangers your name!”

“I’m Edward Newgate,” the giant said, holding out his finger for her to shake. She just glared at it. “What’s your name?”

She huffed, not accepting his hand- or finger. “Marko.” Then she crossed her arms as best she could. “And not a boy.”

Newgate blinked, looking her over. It making her uncomfortable. “Marko, that’s an odd name for a girl.”

“Are you making fun of me?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

“No, no, absolutely not,” Newgate chuckled, holding his hands up in defense. “What are you doing stealing? Shouldn’t you be home with your parents?”

“I don’t have parents, yoi…” she muttered. “Never had parents.”

She wasn’t sad about it. She was glad she didn’t have parents. She heard stories about rules and regulations and what you couldn’t do and that you had to go to something called a school and stay there all day and you had to listen and couldn’t do whatever you wanted. Why would she want to do any of that when she could do whatever she wanted on the streets without having to worry about someone yelling at her for not listening? Of course, it would be nice to have a warm bed to come back to, but she didn’t need someone to tell her what she could and couldn’t do.

“I don’t want parents, yoi,” she said, pushing her nose into the air. “They just yell at you and force you to do things you don’t want to do.”

Newgate nodded as if he agreed with her. “I didn’t have parents either, so I wouldn’t know. But I know that it’s nice to have people who care about you.”

“I have people who care about me, yoi!” she argued. “I have Mongrel! And Jones and Stacie!” She became quiet and looked down on the ground. “I haven’t seen them in a while… but I know they cared, yoi!”

“Are they your foster parents?” Newgate asked.

“No… they’re-- thirteen and six…” Marko mumbled. “But they cared!”

She was worried that something had happened to them. They had disappeared and Marko had no idea where they went, but she knew that she was probably never going to see them again. When kids went missing off of the streets, especially street rats like them, no one would bother looking. They rarely ever came back.

“You’re hungry, how about I buy something real to eat?” Newgate proposed.

“I don’t need you help, yoi,” Marko said again. This was usually the moment that her stomach would grumble had her powers not kept it silent, but she did make a grimace at the pang of hunger that hit her at the thought of actual food. A plate full of whatever she wanted to eat instead of a loaf of measly bread definitely didn’t sound very bad. She looked at Mongrel who was looking at her face with his tongue out and wagging his tail at her as if he was begging her to accept the offer. “Can Mongrel eat too?”

She knew he was real skinny underneath all that fur. She would often give him her bread because she could survive months without collapsing from the pain. She would lay there without any energy to move, but she wouldn’t die from it. She’d learned that when she was very little and had gone months, sometimes it would feel like years, without eating anything.

“Of course, a good companion needs a good meal too,” Newgate said with a grin, standing up straight and once again, Marko felt absolutely miniscule. Then he leaned his head to the side before asking, “Do you want to ride on my shoulder?”

She stared up at the man’s shoulder and she did find herself wanting to know what the view from up there would be like. She wondered if she would be able to see the ocean from there. Maybe she would even see as far as to the next island from up on his shoulder!

“No, I can walk, yoi,” she said. She needed to be able to run away fast if something happened. She couldn’t trust this man just because he paid for her bread and offered her food.

Mongrel smiled as best at her as a dog could. She glared at him before she patted him on the back. He crouched down close to the ground and she swung a leg over his back. She gently grabbed his fur to hold onto as he hurried after Newgate. He glanced down at them with a raised eyebrow but she ignored him.


	2. Food! It's like heaven in your mouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marko is introduced to the wonderful thing called... food~!

“What do you like to eat?” Newgate asked as they walked down the market. His voice sounded far away with his enormous height and she had to look back to be able to look at him.

Mongrel was running up ahead, which made it easier for her to see his face. She wondered if it was difficult to talk to people when you were that tall. If people thought it was insulting when you had to crouch down to properly talk to them or if people would run away because they were scared.

The market was slowly replaced by taller buildings, buildings that might be able to accommodate someone at least half of Newgate's size. Tall people weren’t uncommon around these seas. Marko had seen a lot of people that she had often mistaken for a giant because they were so tall. None of Newgate’s size, though. He was a first for her.  She wondered if maybe he had to sit outside of the restaurants when eating someplace because he wouldn't fit through the door. Or if he had to make his own clothes because he couldn’t find any his size. Maybe his clothes were made out of sails from old shipwrecks. The vest he was wearing did have a few rips and tears at the edges.

“Bread?” Marko said with a shrug.

“Do you like meat? Chicken; beef; stake?” he asked. He adjusted his grip on the bag he had slung over one shoulder.

“I don't know, yoi,” she admitted. 

She had never eaten chicken, or beef, or stake. She hadn't even eaten fish before, despite the fact that they lived in the grand line and fish was plenty a penny. It was also hard to get a hold of, or at least that’s what Marko had heard whenever she went close to the port or talked with one of the few nice fisherman that would come round the island once in a while. According to them fishing was a hard and dangerous job that required skills that, according to them, Marko didn’t even know existed. Most of the time she just assumed they were cheap and didn’t want to share any fish because she didn’t have any money.

“Fish?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. She shook her head, hair flying everywhere as she did. “Hm, well that's not right.”

“What's not right?”

“Have you eaten anything other than bread before?”

“Fruit. I think I ate a potato once, yoi.”

Fruits and vegetables were a lot easier to get ahold of. You just had to learn to recognize when the crops were ready and when the farmers wouldn't be out guarding them. Also not to take too much at a time, if you did you might not be able to go back to the same farm a second time. Not to mention that rumors spread around fast and no one on the streets wanted the farmers to put up extra measures to protect their crops. The occasional dog was enough.

Newgate hummed, scratching his chin. He looked around the plaza they had found themselves in and muttered to himself. Marko couldn’t hear what he was saying but she did follow his eyes with her own. They looked from one restaurant to another and to another, each building taller and bigger than the other.

Then he smiled, patted his thigh and said, “Come.”

Mongrel followed after him happily, tail wagging behind him and sending thick tufts of fur flying through the air.

They walked towards one of the taller buildings with red patio covers on both sides of what looked like the entrance. There were chairs and tables behind black fencing and bushes. On the windows were a symbol that looked like a stake holding a fork and smiling happily at the people passing by.

“How do you get inside?” Marko asked, the door was just about half of Newgate’s height. Even if he tried he wouldn’t be able to get inside, his shoulders were too big. “You're too big for the front door.”

“We’ll just sit outside,” he answered, not bothered by her question at all. Maybe he got them often? “Or do you want to sit inside?”

“No,” Marko said, shaking her head. She didn’t want to go inside alone, people would look at her funny and talk about her as if she wasn’t there. It always made her feel bad.

Newgate knocked on the door carefully. Though, it was more similar to a tap with his finger. The windows rattled from the force, like a tiny earthquake on the glass.

There was rustling inside, some of the patrons close to the window peeked through the windows to see what was going on while waiters hurried around inside. Marko straightened her back to better be able to see what was going on inside while Newgate knocked again when nobody came to the door. She saw a waitress hesitantly edge closer to the door, before turning to talk to someone she couldn’t see.  Eventually the waitress came peeking outside, eyes big and a bit frightened. 

She swallowed, looking from Marko to Newgate. Marko could see her fidget as she looked up at the large man. 

“Uhm, can I h-help you, sir?” she asked, not leaving the door. She seemed to be using it as a shield.

“We'd like to order.”

There was a short pause where the waitress seemed to think about what she was going to say. She bit her lip and opened her mouth to say something multiple times but no words came. Then she took a hesitant step backwards and smiled awkwardly.

“I… I need to talk to the m-manager first,” she yelped, before shutting the door and hurrying inside.

“Maybe we should go someplace else,” Marko muttered, scratching her arm.

Marko didn’t like the plaza. Every time she came here people would avoid her or point at her as if she couldn’t see them. She heard rude whispers and crude words being said as if she was deaf instead of homeless. Everyone here always treated people lesser. Jones had said once that the plaza was cursed and that everyone who went there was two faced and rotten.

_We should just leave_ , she thought. They didn’t want to serve them. That waitress had taken one look at Marko and had refused them on the spot.

“No, this place will do.”

A couple of minutes went by before a man stepped out of the door. He held himself high with a purple semi fancy shirt on under a gold shining vest. He had a funny mustache and dark blue hair.

“You must be Mister Edward, yes, yes,” the man said, nodding. His shoulders were tense and he stood stiff like a board. “Unfortunately, our establishment isn't big enough to… Accommodate someone of your… Height.”

Newgate laughed. “No need to worry about that. We'll just sit outside.”

“Yes, yes, of course, of course,” the man Marko now guessed was the manager nodded. “Our food supply might not be… Sufficient, either."

“I'm sure you have enough for a little girl,” Newgate said and looking at Marko with a smile. If she wasn’t so uncomfortable she would have huffed at being called  _ little girl _ . 

The manager followed his direction and looked at Marko with a mix of uncertainty and disgust.

“Yes… I suppose we should,” he muttered. “I'll get you two a menu to look at.”

“See, no problems,” Newgate said as the man hurried back inside.

“He don’t want us here,” she muttered, getting off of Mongrel.

She pulled on her left earlobe, feeling the melted plastic stuck in her ear pull on her cheek. It was the one place she would ever feel some form of ache and now it ached a lot. She would often describe it as being similar to a burn, even if she didn’t know why or what a burn felt like. Every time it ached Marko knew to leave. 

She kept it well hidden behind her curls, always making sure that no one saw it. The adults that had seen it had gasped in fear or horror and had pretended that she was never there to begin with. When she had shown it to Jones, the older teen had told her to never show the small piece of plastic to anyone. Bad things would happen if she did.

“If you walk away from everyone who don’t like you, you’ll end up with very few places to go,” Newgate said.

He moved a few chairs and tables out of the way and sat down. Then he put a table and chair down next to him and tapped it with his finger for Marko to join him.

She did, though a bit hesitant. The ache in her earlobe told her to leave, but the promise of food was too appealing. She had never had a real meal from a restaurant. The temptation was too strong.

She hopped up on the chair and drummed her fingers on the table as they waited for the manager to come back with their menus.

“But what if he don’t come back?” Marko asked.

“I’ll just have to knock again.”

“But if he doesn’t want to give us food-”

“You worry to much for someone so small,” Newgate interrupted. He ruffled her hair with his finger again and Marko swatted at his hand. 

She ducked her head down and pouted. “Stop doing that!”

Newgate laughed.

Eventually the manager came back with two menus, one average sized and one almost half as big as the manager. He placed the small one in front of Marko while he held the bigger one up for Newgate. Then he disappeared back inside with a fake smile and a quick, “Mister Newgate.”

Marko glanced after him and then down on the menu. It was a maroon red with a shiny plastic over the text. It was heavier than she thought it would be when she picked it up and the text was small. To her horror there were no pictures.

“Why did that man know your name?” Marko asked as she pretended to read the menu. It was just a bunch of small text that she couldn’t read. Mongrel was sitting next to her, tail thumping into the ground loudly. 

“Guess I have a known face,” Newgate chuckled. Marko frowned. “I've had a few run ins with the Marines is all. Nothing you need to worry yourself with.”

She narrowed her eyes, but felt her stomach grumble silently.

“Anything that sounds tasty?” Newgate asked.

“Uhm… I want what tastes good, yoi?” It came out sounding more like a question instead of a decision. “I’ve never eaten any of this before, yoi. What should I pick?”

“How about we take a little of everything and see what you like?”

Marko shut the menu with a smack and nodded. A little of everything meant a lot of food.

* * *

 

 

Marko stared wide eyed at the table, the many plates sending scents and smells she had never even known existed through her nose. Her mouth watered and she wanted to eat all of it at once. The problem was that she didn't really know where to start. There were meaty dishes and dishes just made out of salad. A bowl of what she guessed was soup and a couple of carafes of water and other colors. She remembered the waitress calling them... soda?

"Where do I start, yoi?" she asked, feeling a bit intimidated by the massive amount.

"How about you start with a salad? Or maybe chicken?" Newgate said, pushing a bowl of fruit salad towards her. She frowned at it and looked around the table.

"Which one is the chicken?"

Newgate pointed towards a plate of chicken wings. Marko pointed at it too as if to confirm and when he nodded she reached for the plate and pulled it towards her.  She had to think abit about which wing she wanted to eat first before dediding on a large piece of chicken wing and bit into it. The taste was even better than the smell, it was like eating pure heaven. She didn’t know how else to explain it. It was like nothing she had ever eaten before.

Tears burned in her eyes as she took another bite and then another, stuffing her face full. It was so good! 

Newgate laughed. “Is it good?”

“Absolutely good!” Marko sobbed happily.

Most of the meal went without conversation, there were some words exchanged here and there but Marko couldn't really focus on what was being said. She was too busy eating and tasting all the new dishes to bother with talking and Newgate didn't seem to care much about it. He sat there smiling and occasionally laughed at her expressions at some of the foods, some being better than others.

Next to the table, Mongrel was wolfing down a particularly large piece of meat with a large bone in it he could pick clean and amuse himself with later.

* * *

 

 

Newgate smiled as he watched Marko inhale the food on the table. It didn’t even seem as if she disliked anything and he wondered if she even tasted what she ate as she swallowed it down. She was eating as if she’d never eaten food before and the thought alone was sad.

Marko wasn’t just short, but she was also thin. While she was wearing clothes that were way too big for her Newgate could tell from the way they hung off of her how thin she really was. Her wrists were like sticks and her cheeks were beginning to hollow. It was amazing that she even had energy to move with how frail she looked.

“You should slow down, the food isn’t going anywhere,” he laughed.  Mostly for humors sake, but also because if what she said was true and she was only used to eating bread and vegetables once in a while, then her stomach wouldn’t be used to half of the stuff she was currently having. It might be good now but could also lead to some bad stomach aches later.

Marko only hummed something unintelligible in return. She didn’t even turn to look at him, only waving a chewed up chicken bone in the air before dropping it to reach for a fruit salad.

Newgate had ordered it in hopes that she would start with the salad first and then work up to the more meaty dishes. Instead Marko had reached for what had looked best and then she hadn’t stopped. He wondered if she even knew what she was reaching for or if she went mostly on autopilot right now.

After wolfing down a particular large piece of meat and getting sauce all over her cheeks, Marko dried her face on her sleeve. The dirty fabric did little to remove the sauce and only smeared it around. Her hair moved and the wind caught some of the curly locks and blew them behind her shoulders. In that moment, Newgate caught the sight of something small and plastic looking with a distinct red color.

He had seen the hint of red in her hair before. The first time when he’d rustled her hair back by the baker's and a second time when she was riding on Mongrel and her hair had flown everywhere. The third had been just now when he’d ruffled her hair and had seen a rectangular red shape hidden inside the dirty curls. He didn’t see exactly what it was or anything distinct about it, but it did cause him to frown.

Newgate had traveled a lot and he had been a pirate for his entire adult life. He had seen more than most men did in their entire life, both good things and bad things. There were plenty of things that he wished he didn’t know about the world and how it worked. The small red plastic looking thing tangled into Marko’s hair reminded him of something he didn’t want to associate with someone so young.

“Marko, can I see your earring?” he asked. He didn’t want to spook her or cause her to suspect anything. If it was what he thought it was, then she could just as easily run.

“Mmf whaft?” she asked, mouth full of food and the words coming out mixed and muffled.

“Don’t talk with food in your mouth,” Newgate scolded. Then he tapped his own ear and repeated, “Your earring. Can I see it?”

She frowned and tilted her head to the side for a moment. Then she shrugged and reached for another plate. “I don’t have any earrings, yoi. My hair is just tangled.”

It had been quick but Newgate had caught it, the hint of panic in her eyes and the way her small shoulders squared as if realizing something. She had been quick to play it off, though, faster than someone her age should be. Kids her age should be terrible liars and be bad at hiding secrets. They should fidget and be uncomfortable when approached about something they didn’t want anyone else to know. Marko had played it off almost as well as an adult had, as if she was so used to lying about it that it was second nature at this point.

That or she was just so engrossed in the food that she had just decided that the food took priority. Could be a mix of both.

Newgate hummed, scratching his cheek. He hoped he was wrong.


	3. The hunt for Newgate

Garp was not in a good mood, which anyone who knew him could attest wasn’t normal. At all! He’d been grumbling nonsense for almost two weeks now and the only ones who seemed to know the extent of what was really going on was Fleet-Admiral Kong and Admiral Sengoku. If asked, they would simply say, “That fucking family”.

The real reason Garp was in a bad mood was actually because Dragon had suddenly decided to drop off the face of the earth. With no warning whatsoever! It had left Garp in a sour mood, especially since not only had Dragon gone MIA, but Roger had apparently gone missing as well. Which was never a good thing considering the bullshit that man could get into.

Eventually Kong had gotten tired of Garp’s moping and bad attitude and put him on a marine ship assigned to tail Newgate. Apparently the man had gotten into some shit again too, no surprise there, and had gotten the media into a frenzy. So Garp’s mission was to go there and check up on what the hell was going on. Kong knew that bringing in Newgate wasn’t going to happen, but had at least told him to make a show of it so that the public knew they were doing something about it.

They had tracked Newgate to a small island in the outskirts of the Grand Line very close to the calm belt best known for its three year summers and fishing industry. There were a lot of other more shushed rumors about the island as well. Most of them saying that they had a more nasty industry going on under the surface that everyone turned a blind eye to, but nothing that had ever been confirmed.

This island is exactly where Garp found himself now, walking along the port with hunched shoulders and a frown that could probably curdle milk. There was frost on the ground and in the shadowy areas where the sun didn’t reach were small piles of snow.

The harbor while not bustling like on the bigger islands, were definitely alive and awake. Fishing boats were coming in with their catch and some were working on sorting the fish right there at the dock.

He walked up to one of the boats who were currently in the process of unloading a large catch of fish; Half of the stash where half the size of the men doing the unloading. They laughed loudly and joked as they worked, bumping each other on the shoulders and slapping their friends in the face with the fish they couldn’t sell when someone was being too much of an asshole.

Garp made his way over to the crew. If Newgate had docked here then the people at the port should have noticed. The man stood out like a sore thumb on these smaller islands.

“Hey, sailor,” one of the fishermen greeted when Garp approached. He had a long grey beard with silver lines in it and a wrinkled face that brought on a false impression of a brittle old man. His shoulders and thick forearms said otherwise though and spoke of years of heavy lifting.

“Yo!” Garp replied, waving a hand. “Seen a man the size of a building walking by here?”

“Not in this direction, we haven’t,” the sailor answered with a shrug. “I think I woulda’ noticed a man the size of a house.”

Garp groaned. He was actually looking forward to a fight, it meant letting go of some of the pent up frustration from the last few weeks.

“What about a crew of men half that size?”

The sailor laughed. “That’s not much to go on there. Any other details?”

Garp thought for a second, trying to remember the characteristics of Newgate’s crew. They did make news quite a lot and were definitely strong enough that pretty much all of them had a wanted poster. Didn’t mean that Garp paid much attention to any of them. They weren’t a challenge for him.

“One of them has spiky black hair and smokes a cigar,” Garp remembered. He believed the guy fought with a sword but couldn’t be sure.

“Gruff voice? Black moustache with a scar on his face?” a second sailor piped up from aboard the ship.

“Something like that I think,” Garp shrugged.

“Saw one of them by the east side,” the guy said, pointing in the direction. “Right past the Metal Castle, you can’t miss it. Ask around there.”

“Metal Castle?”

“Huge building of metal, looks a bit like a castle,” the sailor explained with a grin as if that should be obvious.

Garp nodded and gave his thanks before heading off in the direction the man had pointed at. He passed a few other fishing boats and a few shops before the spotted a large grey building. The metal walls shimmered in the sun and two guards stood outside the door with guns in their hands. When Garp passed them they nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

There were less people around this part of the port. There were less ships docked here and the ones that were looked very familiar to Garp. He had seen similar ones at Saboady plenty of times. It made him sick to think about.

“Hey, have you seen a guy the size of a building come by here?” Garp asked one of the guards.

The man straightened his back and held his gun higher as if to seem more professional. Garp really couldn’t care less about this guy’s posture.

“Yes, sir!” the guard answered, loud and clear as if they were surrounded by loud noise. The only noise around here were faint screams from inside the building behind the two and from the occasional worker that walked by.

“Oh! Really?” Garp asked. Finally some good news.

“Tall man, brown vest with long blonde hair, sir!” the guard clarified. “He headed in the direction of the marketplace, sir!”

“That’s Newgate! Thank you!” Garp grinned, heading off.

“Sir!”

“Huh?”

“The marketplace is that way, sir!”

“Oh, thank you.”

 

* * *

 

 

Garp looked down on his wrist where the small den den mushi was beeping. It had been doing so repeatedly for at least ten minutes now, but he’d elected to ignore it in favor of finding Newgate instead. The baker he’d talked to had helped a lot in giving him a well detailed description of his encounter with the man and in which direction he’d gone. He’d even told him about parts of a conversation he’d heard Newgate have with a young girl the baker had caught stealing from his stand. He’d also gotten a good description of the girl and her dog.

With a loud groan, he held his wrist up closer to his face and opened the shell. He picked his nose as he said a quick, “Huh?” to announce he was listening. The snail clicked and stared at him for only two seconds before it decided to start screaming.

“Garp! Answer the damn den den mushi!” was the first thing that came out of the small but loud thing. The snail glared at him almost as pissed off as Sengoku, which made Garp laugh.

“Yes, yes, I was busy,” Garp defended.

“We’ve got new intel on Newgate. He’s been spotted at a restaurant in the middle of the town at a place called Meaty Might’s Steakhouse.”

“Sounds tasty,” he said, already feeling it watering in his mouth.

“Focus!” the snail barked with glaring eyes. “They say he’s there with a child.”

“Must be the brat the baker talked about.”

“Who- doesn't matter. Whatever you do, do not harm the child, you hear? It’s possible the kid’s being held hostage so we won’t attack.”

Garp had to raise an eyebrow at that and scoff. Newgate taking a hostage and a child one at that? Bullshit. If anything he was probably working on the adoption papers as they spoke. But it was still a child and damn if he was going to let Newgate corrupt a small child to the wrong path.

“Alright,” Garp said to acknowledge that he’d what the man had said before closing the lid on the small snail.

_Meaty Might’s Steakhouse_. Sounded like a good place to start with; And if Newgate wasn’t there then he could just get a quick snack before continuing his search. He’d never been one to say no to a nicely cooked piece of steak.

 

* * *

 

 

Newgate, as always, stood out like a sore thumb in a town of this size. Garp could see him long before he even neared the town square. The man’s height and long blonde hair was a dead giveaway in these parts of the Grand Line.

He didn’t see her at first, but with a quick glance to the side Garp spotted the blonde mess of hair moving about above a large stack of food. The were empty plates beside the table of the ground right next to a dog properly just as tall as the girl. As he had suspected, she didn’t seem very terrified or in any danger.

He grinned, punching his palm in anticipation. At least with Newgate he would be given a proper fight.

He walked over to the restaurant the man was sitting outside of with his hands on his hips.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, Newgate,” Garp said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a scene where Garp talked to the same baker that Marko stole from, but I realized that their entire conversation was basically just a recap of chapter 1 which wouldn't have been all that interesting to read about. So I decided to leave it out and instead just get on with the story instead. 
> 
> I know this chapter is a bit short but I've been fighting a particularly bad writers/artists block lately.


	4. New Guy

Newgate saw Garp approaching long before the man made his presence known. Marko didn’t seem like she’d noticed yet, however. She seemed too busy devouring the slowly shrinking mountain of food. He was actually quite amazed that her stomach hadn’t turned on her yet.

The same could not be said for the massive ball of fur that was her dog. Newgate remembered that Marko had called him Mongrel. He wondered about the story behind that name. Marko said it like it was just another name and not an insult, almost as if she didn’t know the meaning behind it. Another option was that she’d heard insults so often that they’d lost all meaning to her.

Mongrel growled as Garp came closer, holding his bone closer to him and ears pulling backwards.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, Newgate,” Garp said, fists on his hips and with that usual grin. The grin that everyone with the initial D in their name possessed.

Newgate chuckled. “Aren’t you supposed to be hunting Roger?”

It actually surprised him that they'd sent Garp. Usually the man was off somewhere hunting Roger through half of the Grand Line. He had actually assumed that Garp would have gone after Roger when the man mentioned something about a trip south. 

“Speaking of Roger. “You know where the bastards gotten to?” Garp asked, sounding more than annoyed.

“Last I heard he was heading out,” Newgate answered with a shrug.

The last time he’d talked with Roger had been after one of their usual fights. They’d laughed while their respective doctor’s had patched them up and shared a couple of barrels of alcohol. Roger had started talking about some red flower he hadn’t seen in a while and muttered about a quick trip away. 

“Out where?

“Who knows.”

Garp muttered under his breath as he sat down by the table with a huff. The table rattled and a couple of empty dishes fell and shattered against the pavement.

A tuft of blonde hair was revealed behind the now fallen stack of dishes.

“Hm?” Marko exclaimed in surprise, mouth full of food as she jumped in surprise. She swallowed and looked around, eyes on high alert. “What happened?”

“Oh, Marko. This is Garp,” Newgate introduced, pointing at the marine.

Marko turned to the newcomer and her face visibly paled. She swallowed and leaned away, gripping the table tightly. She narrowed her eyes and looked Garp over. 

“You must be the brat the baker talked about,” Garp said, nodding to himself.

“Yeah, so what?” Marko bit out, putting on a brave face.

“I need to take the kid,” Garp said, pointing at Marko.

“Why would I go with you, yoi?" She barely got the time to finish before Newgate spoke.

“What does the marine’s want with Marko?” he asked, holding a hand out to block Garps view of her.

“I don’t want anything with her. I’m keeping you from corrupting the youth,” Garp said as if it was a fact.

"Is that so?" Newgate asked, eyes narrowing.

"I'll make a strong marine out of her," Garp grinned. "We don't need more pirates."

"And what makes you think I'd let you do that?" 

Marko looked between the two men and stuttered, "Do I get a say in this, yoi?"

The thundering of at least forty marines was left on deaf ears and neither marine nor pirate noticed the incoming crowd. Marko did however and shrank as far down as she could and motioned for Mongrel to get close.

“Freeze, Edward Newgate!”

Three heads turned at the same time in the direction of the shout, though the smaller blonde head was barely visible next to the two huge human’s sitting with her.

Garp let out an irritated sigh, scratching the back of his neck.

“New guy?” Newgate asked, amused by the man’s shout.

He’d never seen the marine before, though he looked like at least a lieutenant. Maybe even a vice-admiral from the coat, but Newgate could tell just from his posture and age that this kid must be new to the position.

“Yeah, Kong’s making me babysit,” Garp explained with a shrug. 

“Uhm…”

He turned to look down at Marko as the chair scrapped against the floor. She’d gotten off and was backing away, shoulder’s shaking and looking just about ready to bolt.

“Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen to you,” he assured, ruffling her hair with his finger.

“Why are they after you?” she asked, looking at him with narrowed eyes. “Why do they know your name?”

"You didn’t tell her who you are?” Garp asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It wasn’t important.”

“Always so carefree, you and your bunch.”

“Hand over the kid and no one will be hurt!” the young marine lieutenant or vice-admiral yelled.

“What does he want with me?” Marko asked, backing further away. Mongrel stood in front of her and was growling at the marines, head and front paws low to the ground and ready to attack.

"I won't let them hurt you, Marko," Newgate reassured, but he could see the uncertainty in Marko's eyes.

How many times had she been abandoned?

 

* * *

 

 

Marko swallowed as she watched the scene unfold before her. Everything went too fast for her to process, so when the deafening sound of forty guns going of at the same time she had to cover her ears. She crouched down close to the ground and gripped her ears tightly as she tried to drown out the noise.

She wasn't afraid of being hit. She'd been shot before. If she knew it was coming it wouldn't hurt as much, but that didn't mean it wasn't still scary.

When she looked up she saw Newgate standing in front of her. She couldn't see much since his boot was covering her, but she saw the large white cracks that spread across the air all the way down to the pavement.

She stared wide eyed as the bullets all shattered against the cracks and fell to the ground in small pieces.

Then it happened. The ground beneath her moved and she fell backwards. She stared up the giant man before her, unable to say or do anything.

Had he just caused an earthquake?

"Come on, kid."

She sprung to her feet as Mongrel jumped in front of her as Garp reached towards her. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she thought it was going to jump out.

"I told you, you're not taking her," Newgate said, aiming a punch at Garp.

The marine jumped out of the way and Newgate punched the air instead. Another set of cracks spread across the air like a spiderweb and the ground moved again, this time sending cracks alone the pavement.

Marko did bother staying behind and seeing what was going to happen. She gripped Mongrel by the fur and turned to run away. Away from the two men. Away from the earthquakes and cracks in the air. None of this made sense and she didn't want to stay behind and make sense of any of it.

Multiple earthquakes followed and she lost her balance multiple times. She stumbled and collided with Mongrel, gripping onto him as she tried to stay balanced. There was no time to wait, they needed to leave now.

One of the buildings collapsed and that's when the real panic started. People ran everywhere, screaming and crying. Marko stumbled and was carried away through the crowd.

"Mongrel!" she exclaimed, holding out her hand as she lost sight of him in the crowd.

She was thrown around and people hit her with bags and elbows as the ran in their panic. Eventually she was thrown onto the ground and she curled into a ball as she felt people run, sometimes even stepping on her in their attempts to get away.

She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting tears as screams rang in her ears along with the thundering beat of her heart and the ground moving below her. She wasn't sure how long she laid like that until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She had to take a deep breath to calm her breathing as she opened her eyes. She peaked over her shoulder and saw a man kneeling down beside her. He had a concerned expression on his face and his gun was hung behind his back. He had a marine cap on.

"Are you alright?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been rewriting this chapter for so long and I'm still not quite happy with it. I might go back later and touch it up a bit, but right now this is as good as I can get it. I don't think I'll ever be quite happy with it otherwise. It's just a bit hard to do without a beta reading or an editor to give pointers, but I'll let you guys do that XD
> 
> Anyway. Now we're moving the plot forwards, now that all relationships have been established and some world building and backstory has been explored. There is more to come, don't worry. Everything's already planned out ahead.


	5. Fraud and Surimi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this chapter makes up for the previous one. It packs a bit more than the previous one.

Marko scurried to get away, fumbling along the ground. She lost her balance and face planted back onto the ground with a pained groan as the earth rumbled beneath her feet.

"Woah, woah! Easy there, I'm not going to hurt you."

The man held up his hands in defense and then held them outwards with both palms facing upwards. He leaned away from her and smiled, giving a lose shrug of his shoulders. The one that made them want to believe they really cared about you.

"I just want to make sure that you're okay," he spoke softly. He gave her that ‘see, I’m harmless’ look, as if she would be fooled to believe he wanted to help her.

"'M fine," Marko mumbled, dusting her hands off. She knelt on the ground, ready to sprint if the man made may suddenly movement.

She glanced towards the gun behind his back and swallowed. She wondered if there was any chance for her to get it, but it seemed impossible with the strap around his chest. With his hands outstretched he would easily catch her if she got close and she couldn’t risk that.

"That's good. I was worried you were dead there after that stampede," he said, letting out a sigh of relief. "You're a lucky one."

She swallowed, gripping her sleeves tightly. She hadn't gotten lucky. She had been trampled and run over like she was garbage that had been thrown aside. She had been pushed into the dirt and separated from Mongrel. Carried away by a bunch of stupid adults who didn’t care for her wellbeing at all. But she wasn’t going to tell him how she was unhurt. She couldn’t. Who knew what he would do if he found out the truth. She couldn't risk it.

Marko opened her mouth to answer when the ground started moving below them. Small cracks spread across the ground underneath them as if it was about to open up and swallow them whole. Rocks sprouted upwards and everything shook so much that Marko couldn’t stay balanced and fell backwards.

The man fell forwards, catching himself with his hands with a grunt.

She looked around, seeing Newgate in the distance. He blocked a punch from the marine that had sat down with them and threw a punch back. His hand shone almost like it was surrounded by a white orb and not long after another earthquake followed the punch.

"Come on!" the man said, reaching his arms out towards her.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed, failing to stand up. She only wobbled and fell back down again.

"I'm trying to help you, kid. If you stay here you could get seriously hurt," he exclaimed, holding his hand out. "I know a place that will keep you safe."

"What about Mongrel?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "I can't just leave him, yoi."

"Alright, who's Mongrel?"

"My dog! My friend!"

"I’ll… I'll ask my comrades to look for him. Now let's get you to safety okay?" The man smiled again, eyes growing soft and comforting. All fake. It was all fake, even if he made it sound genuine. “Okay?”

She looked at the man's hand skeptically. She didn't want to go with this man but she didn't want to stay with Newgate either. The earthquakes scared her and with the fighting she wasn't sure if she would be safe.

"You promise we'll find Mongrel?" she asked. "I won't go with you if you don't, yoi."

"I promise," the man said, holding his hand out further.

She didn't trust him one bit. He could be lying to her and lead her into a trap. But he was right. If she stayed here then who knows what would happen. If this man could get her away from here she had much better chance of finding Mongrel and escaping.

Marko bit her lip as she took his hand. It felt wrong and her chest tightened as he pulled her up on two feet. She glanced back at the fight and swallowed as she was brought further and further away. The farther away they got the less violent the tremors from the earthquakes got.

 

* * *

 

 The man - she hadn't asked his name yet but had decided to call him Fraud - had left her sitting on a crate when he'd brought her to where he had deemed to call safe. In actuality it was just a block or two away from the plaza where Newgate and Garp were still fighting.

They were surrounded by marines with guns pointed towards the fight like a tiny human shield. She highly doubted that they would do any good if the fight came towards them.

Fraud wasn't gone long. He came back shortly after leaving still wearing that stupid smile and with a paper bag in hand.

"It's just food," he said when she stared at it suspiciously. "All we had is bread. Hope that works."

She accepted the bag and placed it in her lap. When she opened it she could already smell stale bread. Inside was a brown loaf that looked dry around the edges and would most likely be tough to chew.

"I asked a squad to go look for your dog, so they'll be keeping an out. We’ll have him found in no time."

All Marko did was nod to acknowledge that she'd heard him. She was worried, but knew that Mongrel was strong. He had helped her survive all these years alone and could take care of himself. It wasn’t the first time he would come back to her. It was him who had found her in the first place after all. She strongly believed that he would find her again, despite the mess that was going on.

What a mess it was, too. The fight, the Marines and Newgate.

She narrowed her eyes. This was all his fault. If he hadn't interfered with the baker then none of this would have happened. The Marines knew him, Garp had known him and so had the restaurant. He had told her not to think about it, but this was all because of him. This was all because other’s knew who he really was while Marko didn't.

"Who is he? Is he a bad person?" Marko asked, poking at the dry loaf. The crust was hard and she doubted it was any good on the inside. "Newgate, I mean, yoi."

"He is a very bad person," Fraud said with a nod. "He's done a lot of bad things and has a very big bounty on his head."

Her stomach churned and twisted. She gripped her at her shirt and bit her lip. He had lied to her after all. This was all because of him.

But why had he bought her food and saved her from that baker then? He had also stopped Garp from taking her away. Why would he do that if he was so bad? Why protect her?

Marko frowned. Could he be…? Was he fighting because of her?

"He didn't seem like a bad person," she mumbled, more to herself than to Fraud.

She shook her head. That was stupid. He didn't even know her. He was a bad guy. She wouldn't be here if he had just stayed out of her business.

"He talked to you?"

"He bought me food," she answered, albeit a bit hesitant. Though, she had to admit that the food Newgate had bought her had been a lot better than this stale piece of bread.

"Did he now?" Fraud mused. He was silent for a bit before he knelt down. "I think my superior will want to meet you."

 

* * *

 

 She reluctantly followed Fraud as he walked further into what could only be described as a makeshift base as they waited for the fight to settle. There were less marines here, but the ones that were present mostly sat on crates while cleaning their guns or talking on a den den mushi.

Marko had never used a den den mushi before, though she had seen them around town before. There had been that one time when she and Stacie had found a small nest of baby snails in the outskirts of the town. The snails had disappeared after a few days.

She suspected that the people in the town had gotten to them.

“This way,” Fraud said, waving at her. “He doesn’t bite, even if he looks a bit scary.”

The man that Fraud wanted her to talk to was tall. Although, after having met someone as tall as Newgate, everyone else looked absolutely tiny in comparison. He was dressed in a white fancy suit and had a long coat lazily thrown over his shoulders.

She tilted her head to the side. “How does it stay on?”

“How does what stay on?” Fraud looked at her, eyebrows raised.

“Nothing,” she mumbled, biting her lip.

"Who's this?" the guy in the mysterious coat asked, turning towards them. He looked down at her with annoyance.

"I believe this is the child who was held hostage, Vice-admiral Surimi."

The vice-admiral looked her over and hummed. "He does fit the general description."

"I'm a girl, yoi," Marko huffed, crossing her arms and glared at the man.

"Private, go help with the front line," the vice-admiral ordered. Fraud made a quick salute and gave her a smile.

“Everything will be fine now,” he said reassuringly before leaving.

The vice-admiral let out a sigh but his expression changed to a kinder, much softer one as he crouched down to her level. He ruffled her hair with a smile. “We’ve been looking for this man for a very long time. He’s a really bad man.

“Fraud told me.”

“Fraud?” The vice-admiral frowned, scratching at his stubble.

“The man who took me here,” she answered honestly, pointing towards Fraud’s retreating back. “I don’t know his name, yoi.”

Surimi chuckled, nodding. “You must have been terrified.”

She turned towards where the fight between Newgate and Garp was taking place. A large crater made up most of the square and a lot of buildings were cracked or collapsed. The fountain in the middle was completely demolished.

“Not really. He didn’t hurt me,” Marko said. “And I don’t get scared, yoi.”

“That’s good,” the marine laughed, ruffling her hair.

“Don’t do that!” she yelled, swatting his hands away.

Surimi rolled his eyes, but stopped.

“You know, lassy,” he started, thinking more out loud at first before turning to look at her again. “You should think about becoming a marine.”

“Why?” Marko asked in confusion.

“We could use brave young people like you. You could make the world a better place,” Surimi said, big smile on his face. A big fake smile. Then he frowned, staring at the side of her face intensely.

For a split second, Marko didn’t understand why he was looking at her like that. Then, as his hand touched her left cheek, the panic struck her. She quickly turned to run but was stopped by Surimi grabbing her shoulders as he inspected her ear, and with it, the red tag. Then he sighed.

“Well isn’t that unfortunate,” he apologized.

“Why is that unfortunate- Let go of me!” Marko growling, pulling on her shoulder and pushing at his hand. It was to no avail, his hands didn’t budge.

“You need to come with me.”

“I don’t need to go with you, yoi,” Marko said through gritted teeth as she kept trying to get out of his grip. “Why won’t you let go?!”

“I’m sorry, lass. Come on,” the marine said instead, pulling his cap down as he gripped her wrist. “Everything will be just fine. I just need you to come with me.”

He smiled reassuringly, or at least what he must have thought was reassuringly. His smile spoke of warmth and comfort, of protection if she went with him. But it was right there in his eyes. The fake compassion. The lies and deceit. Wherever this man wanted her to go wouldn’t be good for her.

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. She clawed at his hand and stuck her heels down into the dirty ground. She felt how they scraped against the ground as she was pulled along. For once she was glad that her pants were a few sizes too big or he would have seen the injuries heal.

“No!” she screamed.

She kicked at his ankles and tried to bite his hand only for him to pull on her arm causing her to lose balance. Her foot got caught in one of the cracks as she fell, she felt her ankle bend at an unnatural angle and her subconscious acted without her thinking. Blue flames sprung up around her entire foot. The joints snapped back together as she pulled her foot out.

Her body shook and she could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears as she glanced up at him.

“A devil fruit?” the marine asked, astonished. His eyes shone with surprise and even a tiny bit of greed.

In a split seconds decision, Marko bit down on his hand and sinking her teeth so deep into the man’s hand that she could taste blood.

She refused to release his hand as he let out a loud scream. He doubled over with his other hand grabbing at his wrist. But he didn’t let her go.

He glared at her as he tightened the grip on her wrist and narrowed his eyes at her. Marko saw the strike coming, but didn’t have enough time to get away. Her entire body turned with the blow, her shoulder protesting as it bent uncomfortably.

Her cheek only ached for a second, but it was enough for her entire body to shake with fear. Her free hand came up to cover her cheek and the bruise despite the blue flames already having removed it.

“You brat!” the marine growled, finally letting go of her. He inspected the damage and the blood that was dripping down his fingers. “Look what you did!”

In any other situation Marko would have run away. She would be long gone by now. But her legs wouldn’t move, they were frozen in shock as she tried to process what was even happening. She just couldn’t understand anything anymore.

What shocked her the most, however, was the fact that the hit on her cheek had hurt. It had stung as it healed. It had never done that before.

“W-why…?” she stuttered, looking up at him.

All of a sudden, the vice-admiral seemed a lot bigger than Newgate had ever been. He seemed to grow taller by the second, as if she was shrinking in size. Her entire body grew cold as he stared down at her with those angry eyes. Angry eyes and punches that hurt.

“Freaking monster brat!” Surimi said through gritted teeth.

Marko gasped, trying to fumble backwards as his hand reached out towards her. The closer it got, the larger it grew. Everything around it grew blurry and all she saw was how it got closer and closer. It got so close that she could only see his palm, but her body wouldn’t move. She couldn’t will her feet to move until it was too late.

His uninjured hand grabbed her wrist again and almost threw her forwards. He took long steps, dragging her behind him as he grumbled curses and insults at her. Every time she pulled against his grip he would pull her forwards with such force that her shoulder would ache.

None of it made any sense!

“No! Let me go. Please, just let me go!” she begged. Why wouldn’t he listen?

A loud bark came from the distance and a wave of relief washed over her. She looked behind her, seeing the silhouette of the large furry canine come running.

"Mongrel!" she screamed. "Mongrel!"

The huge dog narrowed it's eyes and gunning it straight towards them. He growled and barked ferociously as he charged towards the vice-admiral.

The man didn’t even break a sweat as he pulled out a gun. He growled something that Marko couldn’t hear before he pulled the trigger.

The sound was almost deafening and she had to hunch down at the loud noise. It rang in her ear as she watched in horror as Mongrel fell limp to the ground. A patch of red stained his fur and the tears spilled over.

“No… You monster,” Marko whispered, staring wide eyed at the large lump of fur. “You monster!”

She kicked and screamed and fought and refused. She was not going with this man. There was no chance in her life that she would let him take her away. He was going to suffer. She would make him suffer!

“Let me go! You monster! Don’t touch me!” she screamed. “How could you! You’re garbage! You're a monster! You can’t do this!”

She did everything that she could think of to get him to let her go, but nothing worked. He just kept dragging her away and there was nothing that she could do to stop him.

The ground moved below them again and she stumbled over her own feet. She looked behind her again, seeing Mongrel on the ground and in the distance someone jumping into the air.

She fumbled over the words, feeling her throat tighten as she tried to speak. “N-n… Ne… Newgate... Newgate!"

"Would you stop screaming!" Surimi barked, violently shaking her.

"No! Newgate!" She screamed as loud as she could. She screamed so loud that her lungs started to protest and her throat burned. "NEWGATE!"

The ground shifted underneath them. They could hear the ground breaking and moving behind them. For a split second there was a spike of fear in Surimi’s eyes but then he shook his head.

“Vice-admiral Garp will deal with it,” he muttered.

“NO!”

But her screams did nothing. No one came to help. No one bothered to even glance her way. She kept looking back, hoping to see Newgate coming towards her. But he didn’t. She was all alone as Surimi dragged her away, off to the Metal Castle.

It towered over them with barred windows and large doors. There were always screams coming from inside that made her bones cold and shake with fear.

They said that it was a place of horror. If you went inside you never came back out. It was your last destination, they said. There were stories going around the street community that they stole your soul and made you into nothing but a puppet, soulless and hopeless. You were less than a human there, tortured and used for their amusement. The front gates were the End of Life.

As the doors closed behind them, she cried. She didn’t want to believe it. As she glimpsed the last rays of light, she flashed back to another time a pair of large doors had closed behind her. She saw large hands reaching for her, the silhouette of a woman with long blonde hair and then a strong burn in her left ear. The memory carried feelings of loneliness and absolute fear, like she was never going to be safe again.


	6. In the name of Justus

Marko's screams had brought the fight to a halt for approximately five seconds before Garp's fisthad sent him flying backwards. Those five seconds of distraction had been solely because his worry immediately went to Marko and the many reasons why she would be screaming. But even when he'd managed to convince the marine that he had more important things he needed to do—namely search for Marko—he'd been unable to find her. All he'd found was dust, broken buildings and the remains of a small group of marine privates shaking in their boots as he approached. They would probably have opened fire if Garp hadn't been walking right next to him.

"Who is this brat anyway? What's so special about her?" Garp asked as they looked around the area. Most of the Marines were standing around them anxiously, not quite sure what to do. 

"She's alone."

The look he'd seen in Marko's eyes had been hollow—empty, as if someone had sucked all the light out of her. He could see how close she was to giving up on people, on life, on the world and he didn't want someone so young to already lose faith in humanity. The shine that had come over her when he'd given her all that food had been that of someone who'd never been shown kindness before; And that was just wrong. 

"A lot of kids are alone. What makes her different?"

"You don't need to be different to deserve compassion," Newgate said. He doubted that Marko had been shown much of anything but rejection in her life to get such cold and hollow eyes for someone so young. It was like looking in a mirror, into the eyes of his own young self.

“Oi! You!” he barked, pointing at one of the privates who shook like a leaf in the wind.

The boy—because he couldn’t be older than a boy with his small frame and narrow shoulders—stood straight like a pole, gun fumbling in his shaking hands. Newgate was sure he heard the poor lads teeth chatter.

“Did a young girl pass by here?” he asked, though it came out more like an order than a question.

The private fumbled, almost dropping the gun. “Uhm, not-not a girl… But J-Justus brought a kid by.”

“Where did he take her?”

“Pro… Probably to see… Vice-admiral Surimi,” the boy said, voice shaking so bad it was almost hard to hear what he had to say.

That must be the new guy that Garp had been ordered to babysit. All he had to do was this Surimi and get Marko back safely.

“Which direction did they go in?” he asked, eyes narrowing. “And speak up, boy, I can’t hear a word over your stuttering.”

"T-that direction... That direction!" the boy practically screamed, pointing down the road with his eyes closed as he was expecting to get hit.

Newgate gave a grunt as his only answer before hurrying in said direction. Meanwhile the boy dropped to the ground, looking ready to pass out. He didn't get very far however, as a marine came running towards them, gun held tight against his body and sweat running down his brow.

"Vice-admiral Garp!" he yelled as he came running. Up close, he couldn't be much older than his late teens.

“Who are you?” Garp asked, sounding very disinterested.

“My name is Petty Officer Orion Justus, sir!” the teen exclaimed, standing in salute as he stopped in front of the vice-admiral.

Newgate perked up. So this young man was Justus.

He stalked over and stood over the young teen like a looming mountain, glaring down at him. His long shadow blocked out the sun and both Justus and Garp glanced up towards him.

Justus eyes widened and Newgate saw him gulp as he took a few steps back. He never looked away from his eyes though, always keeping eye contact.

“You’re Justus?” Newgate asked, voice neutral but also leaving no room for questions. It was a direct order. Answer.

The teen stammered for a few seconds before he shook his head around. Then he went back to standing straight and once again looked Newgate straight in the eye as he answered. “Yes!”

“Where did you take Marko?”

“Marko?” Justus asked, a bit unsure.

“Small kid with blonde hair? Dirty? Really tiny?"

"With baggy clothes? About yay-high?” He showed with his hand just above his hip as he looked up at Newgate.

“Yes. Where is she?” Newgate ordered.

“Yes, I brought her straight to Vice-admiral Surimi! She was a civilian in a dangerous environment not suitable for children, she was unsafe," the private said with a nod. "But I can't find her now and I can't get a hold of Vice-admiral Surimi either."

Anger started building inside him as he clenched his fists. She could be anywhere at this point. He had no idea if she had managed to run away from him or if she had been dragged of somewhere; And if Surimi saw her left ear then it wouldn’t bode well.

"Sir?” Justus piped up from down below, clearing his throat to gain their attention. “We have found the wounded body of a dog, however. I believe it belonged to the child, er, to Marko. When I brought to see Vice-admiral Surimi she said she was searching for her canine companion."

"Show me," Newgate ordered.

Justus gave a stiff salute before turning around, motioning with his hand for them to follow him. He led them just a block away where the white body of Mongrel lay on the ground, chest rising and falling unevenly. A few marines were gathered around him and an older woman was kneeled down next to him, wrapping something around his midriff while another was holding both hands down on a large patch of fur soon hidden behind gause. The fur sticking out was coated in red.

He knelt down next to Mongrel’s limp body. His chest was rising and falling softly and there were soft whimpers coming from deep in the canine’s throat.

“Poor things dying, isn’t he?” Justus asked, his tone genuinely sad as he ran a hand through the thick fur.

"Maybe," the woman said, tying the gause and gently ruffling Mongrel’s ear. He whimpered in pain and whelped. He moved his legs as if he was trying to walk.

"Can you do something?" Newgate asked.

As far as he knew, Mongrel was the only friend Marko had in this world and he doubted that she could handle losing him. If there was something that could be done to save Mongrel’s life, he would do it. He didn't want to be the one giving her the news that he'd passed away.

“I can help him,” the lady said with a quick shrug of her shoulders. “I’m a vet.”

“Really?” Garp asked, picking his nose.

“Yes. Animals don’t need to pay for the decisions of stupid humans,” she said. “Pick him up, but carefully!”

Newgate gently scooped Mongrel up into his hands. The large canine looked up at him through pained eyes before resting his head against his palm as his ragged breathing got worse.

The lady took them to a white building with the words 'Animal Clinic' written in black letters on the wall. Two nurses must have seen them coming because one of them looked outside before they ran out with a stretcher for Newgate to put Mongrel on. Then they carried him off inside.

* * *

 

 

The woman—whom the nurses had referred to as Sister— had brought them around to the side of the building where a small grassy area was fenced in. Inside was a bunch of chairs and some tables. Justus had sat on one of the chairs while Newgate remained standing. Garp had remained behind to deal with the marines that had been left at the plaza. Someone had to deal with the remains of his and Newgate’s battle, and as the only vice-admiral on sight that was his duty. With Surimi gone one of his lieutenants had stopped him from leaving almost immediately.

Sister sighed, taking a long drag of her cigarette. “Small, fragile little thing. Good fighting spirit. I saw him drag her off towards the port. There’s a large prison there that the children call the Metal Castle. The name stuck around.”

“The Metal Castle?” Justus asked. “You mean the giant building made of metal?"

Sister nodded in confirmation. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "It's one of the largest buildings at the port and it's rumored to run miles underground. Supposedly, it's modeled after some prison in the Grand Line."

There was only one prison in the Grand Line that had a similar description; Impel Down. The rumors from there alone were enough to drive men to insanity. The thought of a similar place existing on this island and Marko having been taken there did not sit well with Newgate.

“It’s not a nice place. You go there, you don’t come back. The street kids avoid it like the plague,” she explained, taking a drag of her cigarette. “Look, I’m sorry, but if she was taken there, then you better give up. She ain’t coming back.”

“I’m not giving up on her. What do they do with the people they take there?” Newgate asked, his worry only growing as he thought about how scared Marko must be all alone in a cold,  dark cell. 

“All kinds of things,” Sister muttered, thinking aloud for a bit while scratching her chin. “I think they got some connection with the slave trade, selling criminals and orphans no one cares about to get money to the town. Everyone just ignores it, you know. Pretends they don’t see but we all know what goes on down there. If you want to save her then I suggest you do it fast. They ship people out daily.”

Newgate left as soon as she’d finished talking, heading to the port. At that moment nothing else mattered. There was no time to loose if he was going to get to Marko. He’d beat the shit out of this Vice-admiral for letting a child be put in danger and he was going to take Marko away from this island. If he had to raise the Metal Castle to the ground in the process then so be it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so hard to write because I just couldn't get Garp right at all! I redid the start of this chapter so many times that I eventually just decided to do a quick recap instead of a full on scene. It made the chapter a bit shorter but at least it's not as forced.
> 
> Also, Fraud finally has a real name! I've been calling him Fraud throughout the first draft only to realize that that was just what Marko called him because he never introduced himself.


	7. The Deepest Pits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for ABUSE AND MISTREATMENT OF CHILDREN AND MENTIONS OF CHILD SLAVERY AND BODY MUTILATION.

It was cold; It was damp; It was somehow familiar. Like an itch in the back of her mind that she couldn't reach or that spot on your back you could never scratch because it was right in the middle. The ache that came with having forgotten something important that you really couldn't put your finger on. It was just out of range; A thought that just slipped you by.

The cold touch of the ground underneath her naked feet was like walking in smaller footsteps that had been paved out for her long ago. The clanking of metal chains and iron bars being shut and horrified screams echoed around them like ghostly howls. For a split second, there was the distant sound of animalistic howls, like wolves during the full moon; But it was so quick and so silent that she couldn't be sure she'd actually heard it or if it had been her imagination running rampant. 

The air grew thick and there was a foul odor mixed in that she couldn't place and somehow Marko found herself gasping for breath as she was led down a long corridor. Her lungs ached and her throat felt tight, like someone had wrapped a tight knot around her windpipe. She tried to scratch at her chest to alleviate the discomfort, but every time she did the guard would yank the chain and she would stumble forwards. She had already tripped multiple times, occasionally stumbling over the uneven ground but it was more often because of the fast pace the guard kept. Her thin, short legs couldn't keep up with his long strides and she had to make small sprints to not be dragged behind.

They followed a long corridor with the ground slanting downwards. The further down they came, the lower the temperature dropped. 

The faint light that had come in through the few windows at the entrance of the Metal Castle had long ago disappeared, like a faint hope being ripped out of her hands. The only light source this far down was the lights stuck to the cave like walls. She shrunk in on herself, imagining how the shadows moved around waiting for the lights to go, waiting for the chance to pounce at them. 

The guard brought her into an office, closing a large iron door behind them with a loud bang that made her jump. It had a completely different vibe to it than the outside corridor with its warm light and high temperature provided by a burning fire pit. 

The guard pulled her over to the wall and tied the chain to her cuffs to a heavy looking iron ring in the wall. He secured the chain before dropping his hold on it. The sudden weight falling towards the ground pulled her with it and she stumbled forward before falling to her knees. Her pants ripped at the knees and she cursed as she inspected the tear. She only had these pants! 

She pulled on the cuffs, trying to get her hands free. They were already small in comparison to the ones the guard had gone through to find ones small enough to fit her, but she could still nearly fit her hands through them if she pulled hard enough. At one point she pulled so hard that blue flames sprouted up around her wrists. When they had noticed what she was doing one of the guards had struck her. They didn't seem bother with holding back when they noticed that she didn't bruise.

The walls around them were decorated with long chains and iron rings. They stood out against the bookcases and cabinets lining the stone walls and yet her eyes were drawn towards the chains instead. They hung from the walls like snakes and she imagined them coming to life. 

An old man with greying hair and moon shaped glasses sat behind the only desk in the room and was typing away on some kind of machine she'd never seen before. A sheet of paper was slowly rising up from the machine as he typed away, not giving anyone in the room a single glance.

“We’ve caught some runaway merchandise," the guard said, voice reminding her of the news informants that would come to the town square every week.

The old man only gave a hum in acknowledgement, still focusing on his machine.

“Oi! Are you listening, old man?” the marine that had followed them down here barked.

He kept moving his feet back and forth and had crossed his arms in agitation. His frown got deeper when the old man didn’t reply.

“Tag number L6-327,” the guard continued.

At the mention of the number, Marko reached up to scratch at her earlobe. The plastic was natural under her fingertips at this point and she couldn't remember a time when she hadn't had it. It hadn't been until Jones had told her that it wasn't normal that Marko realized that other people didn't have tags like her. Jones hadn't had one, and neither had Stacie.

At the mention of the number old man finally raised his eyes, glancing above the glasses and out at the men. His eyes wandered slowly from the guard to the marine to Marko in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. She just wanted to crawl in on herself and disappear. Maybe just bury herself into Mongrel’s thick fur and leave the real world for a while.

“She’s tagged?”

His voice was just as lazy and slow as his demeanor. He spoke neutrally, as if he had little care about what was going on. Almost as if he had no emotions.

“Yes,” the guard said, grabbing her hair and pulling it away from her ear. She was lifted up as her scalp gave a faint complaint at the sudden thug. “See?”

“Interesting,” the old man hummed, scratching his chin. “What was her number, did you say?”

“L6-327.”

He spun around in the chair and ran a finger down the filing cabinets behind him. He moved away from two different ones before opening one particular drawer, gave a grunt and closed it again. He moved on to another one, slowly going through the files inside, pulling up the occasional one only to put it back.

“Come on, old man,” the marine groaned.

He was completely ignored and the old man didn’t pick up his pace. It was as if he hadn’t heard him at all. In fact, Marko was almost sure he got slower at the complaint.

Eventually he pulled a thick file full stack of papers to the point that it looked ready to burst from one of the drawers and put it down on his desk with a thud. He flipped each paper, going through them with the same nonchalant speed as before. He hummed as he inspected the paper stack, pulling on the occasional sheet. 

“We don’t have a record of anyone with the number 327,” the man finally said, scratching his grey beard. "And we don't have a Lodge 6."

“Look again,” the guard insisted.

The marine on the other hand was standing there with his arms crossed and tapping his foot. He lines on his forehead grew deeper. 

“I have,” the old man said with a shrug. “But we don’t have a record of an L6-327.”

“How can you not have a record of your stock?” the marine snarled.

“We’re not the only trading center on the island,” the man explained. “Since our Stock houses burned down, we usually ship the kids over to the eastern center a town over.”

“What Stock houses?”

“A number of barracks up the mountain, used to be an hour outside of town,” the guard interrupted while the old man sorted his papers back into order. “The younger children were sent there, easier to control kids that don’t cry in fear all the time. But they burned down a few of years back and all of the records were destroyed. Lost a lot of merchandise in the process.”

Marko shrank back down as images of dark woods and hot flames flashed before her eyes. Nightmares that had haunted her all her life, just as much as the ones with the small boat and the pitch black sea ready to swallow her whole.

The old man walked around the counter and over towards Marko. He knelt down in front of her and reached out his hand towards her ear. He moved her hands away without a word and turned the tag over in his hands.

“How odd…” he muttered.

“What’s odd?” the marines asked with an annoyed sigh.

“See, the children were rarely tagged like this. Hurt the merchandise and the buyers found it disgusting to see the scars left behind by the tagging process,” the man explained. “Usually they were just branded instead.”

“So?”

“This child has had the tag melted into her ear.”

“Melted?” the marine said, the disgust in voice thickening. 

The man nodded. He was mostly mumbling to himself at this point. “Almost as if just piercing it wasn’t enough. Now what could possibly be the reason for that, I wonder? Is she branded?”

The guard shook his head. “No.”

Marko let out a growl and bit down on the old man’s wrist. He let out a loud yelp and withdrew his hand, seeing the indentations in the skin.

“Feisty one. Lack’s discipline,” the man hummed. “I doubt she was ever sold, not with those manners.”

“I’m not property, yoi!” Marko growled, wiping her mouth.

“That’s an odd speech tic. Now where are you from, child?” the man asked. When she growled at him again his face hardened. “Bite me again and I will have your back flayed. So let’s be nice to each other, yes?”

She swallowed and backed further against the wall.

“Beautifully tanned,” the man started, running a finger down her cheek. “Small eyes, color blue. Odd combination. Thick blonde curls. Now you are not from here, are you?”

“I’m not talking to you, yoi,” Marko mumbled. What did he know about her anyway?

“Maybe you don’t even remember where you’re from. Doesn't matter," the elder said, running a finger through his beard. "I think we can work with this one. She just needs some discipline and she'd be ready to be shipped out."

He returned back to his desk and rummaged through the drawers and papers before he pulled out a form. He picked up the feather pen, dipped it in the ink and repeated what he'd already said out loud as he wrote it down on the form.

"Numbered L6-327, child, age unknown, possibly from the old Stock house," he said, the sound of the pen scraping against the paper filling the room.

“Be sure to write down Devil Fruit user,” the marine said.

“Devil fruit user?” the old man asked, raising an eyebrow. The first real expression he’d made. “That might explain some details. Which category does she fall in?”

“A paramecia,” the marine said. He walked over to Marko and pulled out a dagger. “She doesn’t bruise.”

“Hey! Stop—!” Marko screamed as he grabbed the chain and pulled her towards him.

He pulled her sleeves down to her shoulders and held her arms high above her head. Then he placed the dagger against her arm and pushed it in deep. He spun the dagger and then dragged it from her wrist down to her bicep.

Marko squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hide away in her hair as the blue flames cooled down her arm and prevented any damage.

“Interesting,” the old man muttered. “A paramecia that lets you heal any injury. Is it perhaps a Logia maybe?”

“The flames aren’t normal. They don’t seem to burn,” the guard added. “And they only seem to appear when she’s injured.”

The marine let go of her arms and she hurried away from him as far as she could get. She only reached the wall, the chain being to heavy for her to get too far away.

“We’ll have her thrown in one of the Deep Pits. In case she’s harboring any more secrets,” the old man said, writing down the new information onto the form. 

“Isn’t she too small?” the guard asked, looking over her thin frame and short height. 

“Have them drain it halfway. That should do it.” The old man just waved at them as he reached for the Den Den Mushi on his desk. “What are you waiting for? Take her away.”

With a nod towards the old man the guard undid the chain from the wall. With a thug she was dragged away through a different door and down a long flight of stairs. There was another long corridor filled with holes in the floor covered by iron grates. Two iron pipes stuck up through holes in the grates. Loud screaming and the splashing of water could be heard from underneath the holes. One grate vibrated and banged as someone was punching at it from beneath.

“Hey! Let me out! Let me out! Please! You have to let me out!” came from beneath the grate. The voice was thick with fear and sniffles, like the person had been crying.

It sent chills through her as the screaming echoed around them. It was as if their voices was burrowing into her skin and grabbing hold of her very bones, refusing to let go.

She stumbled forwards, hands scraping against the wet floor as she lost her footing. The water soaked into her clothes as the flames struggled to heal the wounds from the fall. A single droplet of blood managed to pass through before the blue flames licked her hands clean.

“Move it!” the guard groaned. 

He yanked the chain and she was pulled along the ground. Dirt smeared into her clothes and along her face. Her knees protested as they were pulled along the uneven ground and she struggled to get up onto her feet. She stumbled and fell and tripped as she tried to regain balance.

It was difficult. Her feet felt heavy and her chest was tight, like someone was squeezing her lungs. Her head was starting to go dizzy and it made her fumble over her feet even more. Her eyes were darting around the room, seeing the guards leaning against the walls with their sick grins as they laughed at the screaming men and women stuck underground. One guard grabbed a hoze and stuck in down a hole in one of the grates while another one turned on a knob in the wall. The sound of rushing water and the increased screaming of whoever was being drowned in the hole rang in her ears.

It was slowly dawning on her what they were doing, what they people screaming must be going through. Who, or more precisely what, those people were.

They were all Devil Fruit Users, thrown down into water filled cells where they were unable to escape and where their abilities wouldn’t help them.

Her breathing picked up and everything was starting to spin. The ground, which had already been slippery to walk on, was starting to sway back and forth. It felt like walking on mush, mush that was hard and cold and full of spilled pools of water. 

She misstepped, her foot crossing the other as she tried to do something to get away. Tried to turn around and run away. Away from the water and the screaming and the laughing guards. Away from certain death!

There was yelling and yanking and hard ground scraping against her face, but she couldn’t properly hear it. Her heartbeat was pounding away in her ears, like an uneven drum beat that just kept picking up. Faster, faster, faster; Louder, louder, louder.

“No…” she managed to gasp out, pushing herself up on her elbows. She stared into the faint reflection in the pool she’d fallen in, seeing the wide eyes and terrified look on the reflections face and wondered who that person was. “I can’t—No, I—! I can’t—”

Loud thunder echoed in the distance. A flash of lightning. The ground rocked back and forth, like a ship caught in a storm. Screaming, big black waves roaring up around her, ready to swallow her whole like giant beast from the deepest depths of the ocean.

She was thrown to the ground by a hit to the side of her face.

She coughed as her head spun. It didn’t clear up. Why didn’t it clear up? Why was she dizzy? Why couldn’t she breathe?

“Is he sick?”

“Don’t know, and I think she’s a girl.”

“Who cares if it’s a boy or a girl. Is she dying or something?”

“She can’t get injured, she must be faking. Just throw her down.”

The voices were distant, like an echo but their words were loud and clear. She understood them but she couldn’t quite make sense of them. Her head was just so clouded, fuzzy and dizzy from something she couldn’t recognize. 

The was a loud click and the weight around her wrists were gone. She barely got time to glance down at her hands before one of the guards grabbed her by the back of her shirts and suddenly she was falling. The circular light above shone down like a sun obscured only by the guard who didn’t even give her a second glance as he closed the heavy grate with a loud bang.

She gasped, eyes going wide and mouth wide open in a scream as she hit the water. She sunk underneath the surface, her head hitting the bottom painfully. She struggled, body heavy and weak. Her arms and legs flailed around under the dark pool until she managed to grab onto something cold and metallic.

It took all of the strength she had left to pull her head above the surface. She inhaled sharply, taking in as much air as she could as she coughed up water while she clung to what must be a ladder with all her might.

While she clung there, eyes wide, body shaking and head pounding like never before, she managed to find footing below. The water was deep, but not deep enough that she couldn’t stand. It reached up to her shoulders and deep enough to zap every bit of strength her devil fruit might grant her.

Something wet trickled down her forehead and down to her eye. It made her vision go red as the droplet fell into her eyelash before falling into the water.

She leaned her head close to her hands clutching the ladder and brushed against her forehead with her fingers. A sharp pain spread throughout her head, pounding and pulsing while the spot she’d touched ached and stung.

It was all foreign to her. The tightness in her chest, the pain in her head and the pounding that followed. The cold that spread throughout her and the way her body shivered so much that her teeth started chattering.

As it slowly dawned on her where she was, tears welled up in her eyes. They fell down her cheeks as she struggled to breathe properly as the realization that she was going to die here dawned on her. 

“He—hey…” she croaked. She swallowed, feeling like a boulder was stuck in her throat, preventing her from making any loud noises. “Hey! Please, let me—let me up—out! I didn’t do it—anything wrong, yoi! I didn’t do wrong, I didn’t, yoi!”

She screamed, tried to be as loud as she could but her throat tightened. In the end all that came out was weak whimpers and badly pronounced words. They mixed themselves and with each word she tried to say, it became harder to speak. The tears fell faster and more flooded down her cheeks; And she couldn’t stop it, no matter how much she tried.

“Please—” she sobbed, leaning her head against the ladder. “I didn’t do anything wrong, yoi.”

 

* * *

 

Newgate stormed down the street, leaving cracks in the ground behind him where he’d stepped. People ran out of the way, some shouting and screaming while others cursed at him to watch where he was going. He ignored all of them.

There was no time to lose. He had to reach the Metal Castle as fast as possible. There was no telling what went down in there and he didn’t want to leave Marko in there for longer than necessary. In fact, he didn’t want her to be in there at all. The longer he waited, the higher the risk of something really bad happening to her.

She must be terrified. Alone and abandoned in a prison she had no reason to be in.

It didn’t take him long to find the Metal Castle. It stood out against the wooden and brick buildings of the town with it’s large metal walls and moody atmosphere. Newgate might actually be able to stand inside the place, that’s how tall the building was. He did have to question why it was so tall but so small in width for something that supposedly held all the criminals in the town.

“Hey! You! Stop where you are!” a guard shouted.

With one single punch in the direction of the doors and the two guards. The large gust of wind from the punch and the way the ground starts shaking sent the guards flat onto the ground. A large dent had bent the doors inwards, leaving a large print of his fist in the iron. He could just about see inside through the crack.

“I said stop right there!” the guard hollered, pushing himself up onto two very shaky legs while pointing his gun in Newgate’s direction. By the way the gun shook and the uncertain expression on the guards face, Newgate doubted he’d even be able to aim straight.

The guard let out a scream as he fired off a couple of rounds at him. Multiple shot missed their target completely, hitting the iron wall or the buildings behind him. One even managed to hit the other guard in the foot as it miraculously ricocheted off of the large doors. The few shots that came close was easily avoided with an earthquake fueled punch which shattered the bullets into small tiny fragments.

“You’re way too weak to take me on!” he yelled, fueling up his foot with another earthquake. He stomped hard into the ground, causing cracks in the concrete that send both guards flying in opposite directions.

Large waves splashed up and covered the ground before seeping into the cracks.

He turned his attention back towards the doors. They came down with a second punch, falling to the ground with loud bangs. The ground shook slightly from the impact and the guards who were inside stared wide eyed at the doors and Newgate as he stepped inside.

He narrowed his eyes as he scanned the room. Multiple small cages—all empty— lined the walls, and in the far back was a long corridor leading down along with multiple staircases spiraling downwards.

"Where's Marko?" he asked, taking one step forwards. A large imprint of his boot was left in the ground as cracks spread out from around it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out darker than I intended, so I've updated the tags incase there's something that might trigger anyone.


End file.
